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Topic: Opinions on school uniforms (Read 13151 times)

I loved having a uniform. One less thing to worry about amongst all the other teen angst. And so much cheaper for my parents. I was amazed at how few clothes I had once I finished school as I just didn't need them!

I am against them too. For one thing, I want my kids to be individuals with the ability to dress themselves within rules (certain hemline lengths, etc.) but still be true to their own choices. I expect someday they'll work for an employer like mine, who says employees must buy their own clothes but they must fit these parameters. If they work for a place that requires uniforms, then coolio, but at least they'll have some practice picking and wearing appropriate clothing day after day, mixing and matching in different combos, and (eventually--high school) budgeting their clothing purchase.

I still had plenty of capacity for this. I still had to make appropriate choices for church, and on free-dress days. I still saved and bought clothes for weekend wear. I don't think any of this took me by suprise on leaving school.

I loved having a uniform. One less thing to worry about amongst all the other teen angst. And so much cheaper for my parents. I was amazed at how few clothes I had once I finished school as I just didn't need them!

I am against them too. For one thing, I want my kids to be individuals with the ability to dress themselves within rules (certain hemline lengths, etc.) but still be true to their own choices. I expect someday they'll work for an employer like mine, who says employees must buy their own clothes but they must fit these parameters. If they work for a place that requires uniforms, then coolio, but at least they'll have some practice picking and wearing appropriate clothing day after day, mixing and matching in different combos, and (eventually--high school) budgeting their clothing purchase.

I still had plenty of capacity for this. I still had to make appropriate choices for church, and on free-dress days. I still saved and bought clothes for weekend wear. I don't think any of this took me by suprise on leaving school.

I bolded the part that I am responding to.

I think that really depends on the school. My niece goes to a school that wears uniforms and there is very little that she is allowed to do to show her style and personality. She is a very creative girl, but she isnt allowed to show that side. At least, not in her wardrobe.

And it's possible to be creative as a teen without uniforms to tinker with--my mom got me into thrifting when I was in high school and I got a lot of practice mixing and matching things to try to look good without any of the items being the latest trend pieces.

The worst of both worlds, I think, is the way some schools do it, which is to have a "uniform" that is not really a uniform but a dictated list of pieces that you have to go find on your own. So instead of having all the uniforms come from the same supplier, Richie Rich's parents are buying him a blue polo shirt and black slacks at Neiman Marcus and Patti Poor's parents are buying her a blue polo shirt and black slacks at Kmart, and everyone can tell the difference, so you've enforced the uniformity without erasing the class distinctions.

I'm OK with uniforms IF the pieces are readily available through Target, WalMart, etc. My son attended grade school where the "uniform" was navy or khaki slacks and collared shirts in solid colors. Everything was easy to find (and there is a large uniform store in my city), plus outgrown parts were always turning up at thrifts.

I sent my daughter to 6th grade at a school with a uniform shirt-only available at the school for $17 . Yeah, she only went there for one year.

I'm OK with uniforms IF the pieces are readily available through Target, WalMart, etc. My son attended grade school where the "uniform" was navy or khaki slacks and collared shirts in solid colors. Everything was easy to find (and there is a large uniform store in my city), plus outgrown parts were always turning up at thrifts.

I sent my daughter to 6th grade at a school with a uniform shirt-only available at the school for $17 . Yeah, she only went there for one year.

That's a good point that argues against what I was ranting about, actually--if the official uniform is prohibitively expensive, one from Walmart would be preferable! I definitely think that if schools are going to mandate a uniform, they need to think about the cost burden they're putting on people.

I think that really depends on the school. My niece goes to a school that wears uniforms and there is very little that she is allowed to do to show her style and personality. She is a very creative girl, but she isnt allowed to show that side. At least, not in her wardrobe.

You're very right, I'm sure. I went to a public school which was quite flexible with hair, jewellery and to a degree, how you wore your uniform. I'm sure they'd have preferred that not to be the case but it was more of a 'pick your battles' thing.

I still, personally, feel that uniforms bring more benefits that detriments - particularly to students already more prone to be picked on at school.

I'm OK with uniforms IF the pieces are readily available through Target, WalMart, etc. My son attended grade school where the "uniform" was navy or khaki slacks and collared shirts in solid colors. Everything was easy to find (and there is a large uniform store in my city), plus outgrown parts were always turning up at thrifts.

I sent my daughter to 6th grade at a school with a uniform shirt-only available at the school for $17 . Yeah, she only went there for one year.

ETA: I see Yvaine's point but it never seemed an issue at our school.

I agree with you. When we did have uniforms I would always end up getting somebody a shirt or two. Often because they would be kind of on their own with laundry and such and so the shirts they had would get noticably ragged. Because we could get affordable shirts a couple of us would get a shirt or two a piece so the kid could look fresh part way through the year. We also had one girl who had really grown in size since the previous year and her parent/guardian hadn't or couldn't bought her new shirts. With shirts inexpensively priced we were able to outfit her with something that fit before teasing got too bad. If the required shirts were too expensive there would be no way we could have stepped in the gap. Actually, having uniforms tended to allow us a pretext to step in to help kids some times while preserving their pride in a way that would have been more difficult if their had been no uniforms.

I liked having a uniform at school. It meant I didn't need to worry about what to wear in the mornings and did cut down on the having to be trendy factor. I suspect it also cost my parents less since while they weren't cheap, I didn't need a new one very often and it saved buying lots of every day clothes.

As a parent I like uniforms. I enrolled DD into school yesterday and being a public school they have uniform tops that are optional and you can get whatever bottoms you like as long as they are in the required range of colours. The encorage school colours, especially for excursions and I'm all for that.

I think that really depends on the school. My niece goes to a school that wears uniforms and there is very little that she is allowed to do to show her style and personality. She is a very creative girl, but she isnt allowed to show that side. At least, not in her wardrobe.

You're very right, I'm sure. I went to a public school which was quite flexible with hair, jewellery and to a degree, how you wore your uniform. I'm sure they'd have preferred that not to be the case but it was more of a 'pick your battles' thing.

I still, personally, feel that uniforms bring more benefits that detriments - particularly to students already more prone to be picked on at school.

Back in the day my (public) school was extremely strict about jewelry, hair ties, polished shoes etc. So we decorated our bags . Kids that *want* to express themselves (because not all do) find a way to express themselves no matter what ime.

Of course we had fantastic art, writing, drama and music programs so there was plenty of scope there, too.

Growing up, I had no exposure to uniforms and thought of them as a means to subvert individualization or ad an elitist way to exclude others. I remember a rather heated discussion in college in the subject.

When my DD was 2 her daycare decided uniforms were to be required for all kids 2 and up. I strongly voiced my objections but lost the battle. Since I loved the daycare I decided to suck it up plus DH was not as opposed as I was. The cost was shocking but I realized that was because I went overboard in buying.

I learned to love uniforms. By 4 years old, I was happily grabbing items off the recycle rack at our school and bringing DDs cast offs up for another child. DD was still able to develop a personal style in uniform and a most definite one for her non-school clothes. There was no conflicts with getting dressed in the mornings.

DD started in a public school in 1st grade. They had a uniform of either navy or khaki bottoms with a white, navy, or green polo. Or the girls could wear a navy or khaki jumper dress. We could buy any brand so wasn't tied to one uniform manufacturer so cost was lower. Again there was enough flexibility that DD could create her own style. This school had a wide variety of economic incomes so they had a policy of no logos showing which reduced teasing about one child in a real Polo while another was wearing Walmart brand.

In 6th grade we switched school districts and for the first time DD did not have a school mandated uniform. But instead she ended up with a peer mandated uniform. She us a senior now. I know over the years when she's been running late but still trying to put the right outfit together she's wished for uniforms. I feel my clothing bill would have been lower during the highschool years if she'd worn uniforms. I know I don't wear the same thing more than twice in a month, so I didn't expect her too. With uniforms, no one but her would have known.

I definitely understand the value uniforms can bring to a school and feel a little silly about how militant I was in my non-uniform stance. I don't think they hinder free expression for the majority of kids, just encourages them to express their individuality in a different way.

I think that really depends on the school. My niece goes to a school that wears uniforms and there is very little that she is allowed to do to show her style and personality. She is a very creative girl, but she isnt allowed to show that side. At least, not in her wardrobe.

You're very right, I'm sure. I went to a public school which was quite flexible with hair, jewellery and to a degree, how you wore your uniform. I'm sure they'd have preferred that not to be the case but it was more of a 'pick your battles' thing.

I still, personally, feel that uniforms bring more benefits that detriments - particularly to students already more prone to be picked on at school.

Back in the day my (public) school was extremely strict about jewelry, hair ties, polished shoes etc. So we decorated our bags . Kids that *want* to express themselves (because not all do) find a way to express themselves no matter what ime.

Of course we had fantastic art, writing, drama and music programs so there was plenty of scope there, too.

I don't think kids should have to "find" ways to express themselves.

I just don't see many benefits in making children all dress alike. The children that have money will still have nicer looking uniforms. They won't be so worn, because they can buy new ones often. And often times, they can buy better brands of uniform.

I just don't see many benefits in making children all dress alike. The children that have money will still have nicer looking uniforms. They won't be so worn, because they can buy new ones often. And often times, they can buy better brands of uniform.

At my school, there were "brands' of uniform. And I did not notice any 'class issues' with people who wore newer uniforms. In fact, faded and worn in was the trend. You didn't want to look sqeakly crisp and new.

And I hate to break it to you, but expression doesn't just happen. People "find" their own expression whether they have a whole outfit to work with or not.

In the other thread, I saw it is standard that someone who is wearing a school uniform--outside of school hours, away from school grounds--represents that school with their actions. I would...not appreciate that, as a child, teen or adult. We all do things we may not be proud of, especially when we are young and our think-it-through hasn't developed yet, and I'd have a huge problem being disciplined at school for something that had nothing to do with said school and, perhaps, I'd already been disciplined for at home, or at a store.

As an adult, I have seen people disciplined for conduct while in a labeled uniform or labeled truck while on company business. The only time I've seen someone affected by off-hours conduct is when the conduct is observed, personally, by other coworkers, clients or supervisors. Granted, some jobs may hold off-hours employees to a higher standard, but perhaps that's why I don't have one of those jobs.

In the other thread, I saw it is standard that someone who is wearing a school uniform--outside of school hours, away from school grounds--represents that school with their actions. I would...not appreciate that, as a child, teen or adult. We all do things we may not be proud of, especially when we are young and our think-it-through hasn't developed yet, and I'd have a huge problem being disciplined at school for something that had nothing to do with said school and, perhaps, I'd already been disciplined for at home, or at a store.

As an adult, I have seen people disciplined for conduct while in a labeled uniform or labeled truck while on company business. The only time I've seen someone affected by off-hours conduct is when the conduct is observed, personally, by other coworkers, clients or supervisors. Granted, some jobs may hold off-hours employees to a higher standard, but perhaps that's why I don't have one of those jobs.

I agree - but I also think it would be a learning experience. Most students don't make that mistake twice.